GB Plus Me Part 3: We're Gettin' Too Old For This
by Catietheawesome
Summary: It's eighteen years later and everything's changed.
1. Strange Patient

May 2007 (18 years later)

**Jennifer**

"And then, the squirrel tickled me to death!" Rachel started to sob. Good thing I had bought extra tissues for the office.

"I see. And how that make you feel?" I asked.

"Hungry."

Yes, this was what I'd been reduced down to. I'd gone from having the greatest job in the world to this. Nuts like Rachel had become part of my everyday life.

_Hey,_ I thought, _it's not as if you never encountered the occasional schizophrenic back in the biz._

Just the other day, I'd had some strange old lady brought to me by the city. "She's confused and she's been making trouble," said the judge.

"What kind of trouble?" I had asked.

"She's been running an illegal business without a license," he replied.

I gasped. "She's drug cartel?"

"No, no, of course not. She's a 'fortune teller.'" Judge Hammond made air quotation marks with his fingers. "Seems to believe that she's psychic."

I froze at the p-word. "I see…" I said slowly. "Has it ever occurred to you that she might actually be…psychic?"

The judge laughed. "Dr. Colby, you know as well as I do that stuff isn't real."

Needless to say, I'd taken the case.

The woman was elderly; about mid-70's, I'd assumed. She had long grey hair that was in a fat braid at the back. She didn't look crazy, but you never really can tell.

She looked up as I walked into my office. "Ah," she said. "I've been expecting you. You know, you're really much more beautiful than you perceive yourself to be, Dr. Colby."

I paused, a little confused by what she had said. But I shook it off. You get used to weird remarks in my line of work. "So," I said. "Do you know why you're here, Mrs. Haversham?"

She smiled. "They sent me here so you can talk me out of thinking I know the future. I came because I wanted to tell you yours."

"Can you…can you really see the future?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Of course I can. I have a sixth sense. I know you believe me, because you share it too."

I froze. "How did you know that?"

"I know more than you think," she whispered. "You've lost dear friends whom you miss very much. But you will find them again…very soon. Destiny will bring you back together, and you will discover more about them and yourself than you could ever imagine."

"Like what?" All my professionalism was gone. "Tell me!"

Haversham shook her head at me. "You've always been such a child, my dear; innocent and impatient. They all thought of you as their little sister, didn't they…all but one. Oh, if only you could see how much he cares for you, how much he misses you."

"Who? Who!"

She raised a hand to her forehead. "Oh. It's so loud…I can barely hear myself think."

The room was quiet except for the two of us. "What's wrong?" I asked.

She stared at me gravely. "I haven't much time. The tumor is growing, I'm afraid."

"You…you're dying? Oh, God," I breathed. "Oh God, I'm sorry."

There was silence until she softly said, "I believe Alice has an urgent matter to discuss with you."

I nodded, got up, and walked out. It was only until later that I wondered to myself how Mrs. Haversham had known my daughter's name.

* * *

I walked into my apartment. Alice was sitting on the couch, flipping through a book as usual.

Alice looked just like Alex-the dark brown, almost black, hair; the dark green eyes. All she inherited from me was the pale complexion, the vertical challenge, and the nearsightedness.

I worried about her sometimes. She was so quiet, so shy. As pleased as I was that I had been blessed with a genius child out of two semi-smart parents, I fretted that there might be something wrong with Alice, some mental defect that made her so non-social.

But I tried not to think about it too much. Alice seemed happy and healthy, and there was nothing wrong with studying and reading.

Alice looked up as I walked in. "Hi," she said. "How'd your day go, Mom?"

"Oh, alright, I suppose. There was this woman today…" I directed my thoughts away from the mysterious Mrs. Haversham. "So what are you reading?"

"Well, actually," said Alice, adjusting her thick, black, rectangular frames. Unlike her vain mother, Alice had no problem wearing glasses. "This isn't a book."

She handed me the book. I opened the cover curiously.

She had been right, it wasn't a book. It was my old photo album. I stared at a picture I hadn't seen in forever: the five of us, standing side by side, wearing jumpsuits and the packs. It was at least twenty years old, but God-it was them alright.

"Where did you find this?" I asked.

"On the bottom book shelf. Mom, who are all of these guys you're with? Why are you wearing these uniforms? Was this a club of something?"

I sighed and sat down beside her. It was about time I told the story. "Alice, we need to talk."


	2. Peck's Revenge

"A long time ago," I began. "There was a business here in this city. It was sort of unusual. The five of us," I pointed to the picture of us, "ran this business."

"Okay, the girl is you," said Alice. "But who are the other guys?"

"I'm getting to that. Now, like I said, our line of work was sort of odd. Truthfully, a lot of people never even believed our business was serious."

"What did you do, Mom?"

"We…" I paused. "Okay, you're not going to believe me if I tell you this. But we…we caught ghosts."

Alice was quiet for a moment. "Oh…I see."

I gave her a look. "Wait. You believe me?"

Alice shrugged. "Sure. Why would you tell me a lie, Mom?"

"Well, I…I didn't think you'd believe ghosts were a real thing."

"As a matter of fact," said Alice, pushing her glasses up her nose. _That's familiar_, I couldn't help but think. "I've been studying physics in school and if my notes are correct, the existence of apparitional beings is possible. So, ghosts could be real."

I shook my head. "How did a dummy like me have a whiz kid like you for a daughter?"

Alice patted my arm with a smirk. "Genetics. Now, back to the story."

"Oh, right. Anyway, we were called the Ghostbusters," I continued.

"Ghost…busters?" Alice tried to commit the word to memory.

"Yes, Ghostbusters. As a matter of fact, I came up with that name myself," I couldn't help but brag. "You see, people would call us when they had a ghost problem; we would show up and trap the ghost, take it home, and put into a storage unit."

"So you guys were basically like ghost exterminators?" Alice concluded.

"Yes, that's what we labeled ourselves as: paranormal investigators and eliminators. But we sort of ended up being superheroes," I said.

"Okay, I see. Now, who are these guys? Who is he?" Alice pointed to a man in the picture.

I laughed. "That's Peter Venkman. What a cut-up. He was the smart-alec of the group. He was always throwing jokes my way. But he was a great friend."

"Wait…Venkman?" Alice asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh, no reason…so who is this one? The one with his arm around your shoulder?" Alice persisted.

"Ray Stantz. He was just like a brother to me," I said. "I was so close to all of them. Winston Zeddemore, for example, understood me better than your father did."

"Which one is he?" Alice asked, staring at the photo.

I pointed to the darkly skinned man. "That's him. He was so funny, but really, they all were. Even Egon."

Alice's eyebrow knit together and a queer look came across her face, as if she was trying not to laugh. "_Egon_?"

"I know, strange name." I smiled at the tall, spectacled man in the picture. "But you could never make a better friend. He was probably the most awkward guy I ever met, not that great with people, but I can't count the times he comforted me when I was scared or sad. Egon was the most important member of the team. He was a genius." I looked at my daughter. "Just like you."

Alice smiled. "He was special to you, huh?"

"They all were. They were my family."

"So…why isn't Ghostbusters still operational?" asked Alice.

My spirits dropped as my thoughts were turned from my old friends to the worst day of my life. "We were shut down by the government."

"Why? I don't see how catching ghosts would be breaking the law," reasoned Alice.

"It wasn't," I replied. "Until Walter Peck became head of the CIA."

"Who's Walter Peck?"

"He was a man who wanted us shut down back in the eighties," I explained. "Long story short, we saved the city and he got publicly embarrassed big time. He swore he'd have his revenge-I guess he did..."

* * *

_1991_

_The CIA operatives threw us into the cell. "Why are we here?" I exclaimed. "Let us go!"_

_They laughed, locked the door, and walked away. "Nighty-night, Ghostbusters," was their parting sneer._

_I screamed out of frustration and fear. One moment, the five of us had just been hanging out at the firehouse, laughing and joking, and the next, we had Feds throwing us into a government facility. I turned to my brothers. "Why did they put us in here? What have we done?"_

"_I don't know, Jenny," said Ray, scratching his head. "I don't know."_

"_Egon," I said, turning to my friend. "What are we going to do?" I buried my face into his chest._

"_Hey, hey, it's okay," he consoled. He cautiously wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug. "They can't keep us in here for forever."_

"_I…I just hope my baby's okay," I gasped._

"_You're pregnant?" asked Egon, surprisedly._

_I looked up at him and nodded. "For a month or two now. Alex doesn't know yet. I just wanted to be sure." I paused. "Oh, God. What if we never get out of here? What I never get to tell Alex about our baby?"_

"_Look," said Egon, looking straight into my eyes. "We won't be in here forever. I think I speak for all these guys when I say that we're not going to let anything happen to you or that baby. We're going to get you out of here."_

"_Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," a horribly familiar voice cut in. We all whirled around._

_A snooty looking man in a suit was standing there, staring at us if as his birthday had come early. "Peck," I snarled. "Did you have something to do with this?"_

"_I had everything to do with this, young lady," Peck sneered. "After my public humiliation and firing from the EPA, I vowed to get my revenge on you charlatans. Now, seven long years of plotting and planning have paid off."_

"_Our pleasure, pecker," replied Peter. "Now let us out of here."_

"_Oh, I don't think so, Venkman. Not until I have a little more substantial fulfillment," Peck retorted, his smug little face pissing me off more and more._

"_You have us behind bars," said Winston. "What more fulfillment could you possibly want?"_

"_What I've wanted since 1984," said Peck. "I want the Ghostbusters shut down once and for all."_

"_Never!" I exclaimed. "We'll never do that!"_

_Peck shrugged. "It's your freedom." And with that, he marched away._

"_Grr…dickless!" I yelled frustratedly after him. I turned to the guys. "We've gotta get out of here!"_

"_I'm afraid that's going to be quite impossible," said Egon. "This is a very high level security facility. There's only one way out of here."_

_My heart sank, realizing what he meant. "We have to agree to Peck's demands…we have to shut Ghostbusters down."_

* * *

"And we did," I concluded. "Ghostbusters ended, and make matters worse, Peck denied any of us contact ever again."

"Oh my God, Mom. That's…that's horrible," whispered Alice. "And Ghostbusters can never be reopened? Ever?"

I smiled bitterly. "Ghostbusters is part of the past now. Let's just let it lie."


	3. Nerd and Jock

**Alice**

"Okay," I whispered to myself. "This is not a big deal."

Who was I kidding? This was a _huge_ deal.

After Mom told me the story yesterday about Ghostbusters, I'd been very intrigued. I mean, she'd said it herself, they were kind of like superheroes. How many kids can say their parents had been Ghostbusters?

Only two that I knew of: myself and Jeremy Venkman.

Jeremy Venkman was probably THE most popular sophomore at Leonard Hines Public High. He was the star of the varsity football and the varsity baseball team, and according to other girls (not that I talked to them much), "hunkilicious."

Yesterday, when my mother had mentioned the name "Venkman" to me, I'd wondered if Jeremy Venkman was his son. So here I was, going to talk to the school's it boy; me, the class freak…about Ghostbusters, of all things!

Sometimes, I just wish I was just like other girls: stupid and superficial. Why do I have to be such a bookworm?

I looked in my locker mirror one last time, just to make sure my sweatshirt and jeans looked alright. "Alright, Wilcox," I muttered to myself. "No turning back now."

My mother and I have different last names. I have my father's last name, and Mom changed hers back to her maiden name after she and Dad divorced when I five.

"Why?" I had asked Mom one time.

She hadn't answered. All I know is, I haven't spoken to my dad since.

The lockers at school are helpfully arranged alphabetically, with the last name of the owner printed on the front. I ticked down the V's. There it was, right after Vasquez: Venkman.

And there he was. Jeremy Venkman was just as I'd heard him described: orangey-red hair, tan and freckled, and kind of toned. I could see why the girls cackled over him.

I gulped and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up. "Can I help you?" he asked in a baritone voice.

"Ah…" I suddenly lost my train of thought. Five seconds earlier, I'd been thinking of Ghostbusters, our parents, the physics aspect of the whole ordeal. All I could think of now was: _God. His eyes are so…blue!_

Jeremy Venkman wasn't just cute. Jeremy Venkman wasn't just hunky. Jeremy Venkman was the most gorgeous boy I'd ever laid eyes on!

Jeremy waved his hand in front my face. "Um…anybody home?"

_Say something, stupid!_

I blinked a couple of times and tried not to stare directly into the sea blue eyes in front of me. I cleared my throat. "Um…hi. I'm Alice Wilcox."

"Jeremy Venkman," said Jeremy.

"I know." _Do'h!_

"Hey, aren't you in my history class?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," I replied. History is the only subject where I'm not advanced. I suck at History. "Um, are you Peter Venkman's son by any chance?"

He looked at me funny. "Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Well, uh, your dad and my mom are old friends," I explained. "They're actually ex-coworkers too…listen. If I tell you a weird-sounding story, do you promise not to think I'm crazy?"

Jeremy shook his head. "Of course not."

I took a breath. "Okay, back in the eighties, your dad and my mom, Jennifer Colby, worked together with a couple of other guys. They were sort of like exterminators."

Jeremy looked confused. "But my dad doesn't kill bugs. He's a psychiatrist."

"Um…it wasn't exactly bugs," I muttered.

"What did they do?"

"Well, they…okay, here's the weird part," I paused. "They caught…ghosts."

Jeremy was silent for a second. "Um…what was that?"

"I know, I know," I groaned. "I didn't expect you to believe me."

"Did you just say that my dad was a ghost catcher?" asked Jeremy, looking like he was trying not to laugh.

"I'm not joking," I said quickly.

He gave me the once-over. "Uh, look, I don't really know who you are, but are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, really," I sputtered. "I just thought you ought to know about it."

"So…what was this business called?" Jeremy asked a little too casually.

My hopes rose a bit. _He's interested!_ "Well my mom told me that they called it Ghostbusters."

Jeremy let out a snort. "Ghostbusters? What kind of name is that?"

I blushed. "I know. It's kind of funny, huh?"

"This whole thing's funny," Jeremy pointed out. "Are you really serious about this ghost catching thing?"

I nodded. "I checked out a book on parapsychology at the public library. It's actually quite interesting."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty smart, huh?"

"Well, I'm taking all advanced courses, except History, and I'm in a junior's physics class," I couldn't help but state.

"Wow." Jeremy looked impressed. "That's…awesome. I mean, that's really cool. I wish I was that smart."

"Really?"

"Well…yeah. Athletes are a dime a dozen, but being smart…it's kinda special," he admitted.

I couldn't help but let a smile grow across my face.

Jeremy suddenly looked at his watch. "Crap, I gotta go. It was cool hearing that story, but I have baseball practice." He started to rush off.

"Wait!" I called after him. "You…do believe me, right?"

He turned around. "Well, I…I don't know. It's kinda unbelievable. Sorry!" And he took off running.

"Ugh!" I closed my eyes and banged my head against the lockers. _Did you really expect him to believe you? It's so far-fetched!_

"Hey, Alice," wheezed a groaningly familiar voice. I didn't have to open my eyes to know who was standing next to me.

_Well, you should've seen that coming. T is pretty close to V in the alphabet._ "Oh. Hi, Dexter," I said flatly.

Even since eighth grade, when he "fell" for me, Dexter Tully would not leave me alone. He's about five foot three, four inches shorter than I am; and has acne, ultra-thick glasses (I know, I'm a hypocrite on that point), and the most ridiculous headgear ever! "So," he said, with a grin on his face. He had something green in his teeth. Yuck! "You got a date for the end-of-the-year dance yet?"

Uh oh. I had to get out of this one fast. "Um, yeah," I answered. "I'm going with…uh…" Inspiration came over me suddenly. "…Jeremy Venkman."

"Really?" He looked in the direction of the athlete. "Oh. Oh, well." He shrugged and left. Phew.

It was funny. I don't like lying. Never have, never will. But, I found, I didn't much mind telling that particular lie.

* * *

**Just a little bit of trivia: Jeremy Venkman's looks are based on this guy named Spencer I go to school with. Why won't he talk to me? *sighs***

**Hey, don't laugh. I've liked the guy since sixth grade, okay?**


	4. Central Park

**Ray**

"Bye, Dad!" yelled Eddie. He ran out the door.

"Eddie!" I called after him. "Forgetting something?"

Eddie ran back in and grabbed his backpack. "Thanks! Bye!"

After doing this almost every morning, you'd think he'd learn from his mistakes. I shook my head. Eddie may have his mother's blonde hair, but other than that, he was just like his father.

I tried to make a home for Amber for here, hoping she would want to stay. But shortly after Eddie was born, she packed up her things and left without a word. So for the past sixteen years or so, it had just been Eddie and me.

I spooned some Frosted Flakes in my mouth. Unfortunately, I misjudged where my mouth was and ended up spilling the bite on my shirt. "Damn it," I muttered to myself. I'd had a motorcycle accident a few years back, leaving me with a bad knee and a blind eye, which really made life cumbersome when I wasn't paying attention.

The phone rang. I grabbed the receiver. "Ray's Occult," I answered. I hadn't had the money to get a separate extension line for our small apartment above the store.

"Ray," said the voice on the other end of the line. "It's me."

I froze. The voice was like a blast from the past. "Spengler?"

"Yes," said Egon. His voice was the same as remember from eighteen years ago-deep and a little nasal. "I have a matter of tremendous importance I have to confer with you about."

"What's going on?" I asked, picking up on his urgent tone.

"I've picked up on immense levels of psychokinetic energy coming from Central Park. I really believe we should look into this."

I paused. "Spengler…I don't know. If we try opening that door again-"

"Ray, I know we could get sent back to prison," Egon cut me off. "But you don't understand: the levels were higher than any PKE surge I've ever seen. My last reading showed 1367-you know what that means."

My heart stopped beating for a moment; I _did_ know what that meant. "You don't suppose it's…"

"Yes," was the grave answer. "I'm afraid it is."

I licked my lips. I knew I was going to regret this, but… "Okay. I meet you at the park."

* * *

The taxi pulled up in front of the park. I hated taxis. I missed my bike...and the Ectomobile.

I paid the cabbie and climbed out. A tall man with glasses in a grey suit was waiting with his hands in his pockets. His tall brown hair was touched with grey at the sides and he had grown a bushy brown beard, but still-it was my old best friend and colleague, Dr. Egon Spengler.

I cleared my throat. "Spengler."

He nodded back. "Raymond. It's been a long time."

"Definitely," I agreed. We awkwardly shook hands.

"So," I said. "You bring the meters?"

Egon walked over to a shrub and pulled a canvas bag out from behind it. "I thought I would be best if I wasn't caught with these in my possession," he explained.

That brought the worry I had in the back of my head up front. "Egon? Are you sure that we should be doing this? I mean, if Peck were to find out…"

"I know." Egon's voice came out flat. "But this is a critical matter. We have to check if there's any threat to the city."

I hesitated. "You…you're sure it's 1367?"

"I'm positive, Ray."

I shook my head. "I just don't know, Spengs. We didn't get readings that high when we battled," I looked around and dropped my voice, "Vigo. I mean, the only thing a PKE surge of that size could point to is…"

"A cross rip," finished Egon.

I shuddered. "I didn't want to have to say it, but-yeah. That."

"The question is, how could a cross rip even have occurred?" wondered Egon.

"Well, we could have a false alarm," I reasoned. "Let's just check it out before we jump to any conclusions."

Egon looked at me as if he doubted the possibility of a false alarm, but nodded and handed me a PKE meter. "Let's take some valences."

* * *

We walked around the park, trying to look inconspicuous. Luckily, it was an overcast day, so there weren't many park wanderers that day.

I scanned some bushes and trees. Nothing…nothing…

_Beep-beep-beep._ I stared as the PKE went crazy. "Spengler!" I called.

Egon looked up from the ground where he'd been scanning on his hands and knees about ten yards away.

"It's going insane-ouch!" I dropped the sizzling meter as it started to smoke. Suddenly in mid-beep, its circuitry popped and the meter was dead.

Egon hurried over and stared at the smoldering hunk of metal lying on the ground. "I believe we've found the site of our disturbance," he stated after a moment.

I cautiously bent down (not the easiest thing in the world to do with a bum knee) and pulled aside some bush. I gasped. "Spengler, look at this."

He bent down too, studying it. "Are you seeing this?" I asked him.

"I see it, I see it."

We stood up. "Look," I said. "I know we could get into a lot of trouble for this…but I think we both know we need to the others."

Egon froze. "You mean…_all_ of them?"

"Yes, Egon. All the Ghostbusters," I said firmly. I knew who he meant.

He hesitated. "Alright," he finally whispered.

I nodded. "Okay. I'll call them tonight."


	5. Awkward Reunion

**Jennifer**

I stared at myself in my hand mirror. Seeing that photo of me and my old coworkers the other day had reminded me that I was no spring chicken. I had cut my blonde hair chin-length years ago to appear more professional. It was getting harder and harder to hide the grey hairs, and I just couldn't ignore those little lines around my eyes and mouth, or the fact that I was having to buy larger-sized clothing for myself. Groan.

"Face it, Jennifer," I muttered to my reflection. "You're middle-aged."

I sighed and put my mirror back in my purse. This was not a time to be worrying about my looks. I had bigger problems. Like the CIA taking me away from my daughter and locking me away in a prison for the rest of my life.

The night before, I'd received a call. The caller: none other than Dr. Raymond Stantz. "Jennifer," he'd said. "We've got something important to tell you. We're meeting up at Zedd's place out in Greenwich Village tomorrow. Could you be there?"

At first, I couldn't even speak. I mean, you try talking to a old friend you haven't spoken to in fifteen years and wasn't supposed to be speaking to, then add the fact that the call had been completely spontaneous. "Ray," I'd said slowly. "Not that I'm not glad to hear your voice...but why are you calling me? I mean, Peck said that we'd be in big trouble if we ever had contact." I paused. "And who is we?"

"Me and Spengler," he replied.

"You and Spengler are speaking? And you didn't get arrested?" I asked incredulously.

"Look, can you make it or not?"

I thought about the five appointments I'd had booked back to back the next day. "Yeah, I can make it."

I could never say no to Ray.

Even I was scared of what might happen if we all met up, I couldn't help but feel a little thrill. The thought of seeing Ray, Peter, Winston, and Egon again made me feel as if I was coming home from a long, long journey.

My heart had broken at the closing of Ghostbusters. I think it was starting to mend.

_I must be out of my mind_, I thought as I rang the doorbell.

A tall black man opened the door. He'd regrown his mustache since 1991, and like my own, his hair was tinged with grey and he'd put on a few pounds. But it was undeniably Winston Zeddemore.

"Hi, Jennifer," he said, breaking into a grin.

I smiled back. "Winston. How've you been?"

"Not bad," he answered. "Got myself a handsome son and a beautiful little girl. Heard you got a daughter of your own now."

"Yes, I do. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Winston stepped back to let me in. "Girl, you haven't changed a bit. Still as pretty as ever."

I shook my head. "You always were the charmer, Winston. How's Laura?"

"Laura's fine, just fine." He started walking towards another room. "They're in here."

I gulped. It was time. I followed Winston into the kitchen.

Ray was sitting at the small table in the center of the room. He'd grown his hair out sort of shaggy, maybe to compensate for the balding on top. Surprisingly, he seemed to be grey-free. As he looked up, I couldn't help but notice that his left eye had a milky scar etched into the retina.

I could tell that Amber leaving him had hurt him deeply. I knew that slut would run off. I should've told him. Despite the aging and the sorrow, he still looked jovial and full of youth-just the way I remembered.

Then I turned my eyes to the other man leaning against the counter off to the side. His dark brown (though now it had just a touch of grey to the sides) hair was still stood straight up in that mad scientist way it always had. He'd grown a beard over the years which really gave him that wise professor look. But like Ray and Winston, Egon definitely had not changed.

I smiled warmly at the two of them. "Hey."

Ray grinned and stood up carefully. I noticed that his knee jarred a little as he did. He pulled me into a bear hug. "Hi, Jenny."

"It's so good to see you," I couldn't stop myself from saying. Just being in the same room with my old friends made me feel as if I'd just found a long lost puzzle piece or was sitting in front of a warm fire after trudging through a blizzard. It felt like home.

I turned to Egon, who'd had been staying quiet. "Spengler? Do I get a hug?" I asked, sort of teasingly.

Through the whiskers, a small smile played on Egon's lips as he wrapped his arms around me. That was one more thing that was the same-I still felt tiny compared to Egon's lankiness.

We pulled apart and I looked at Ray. "I assume we're waiting for Venkman?"

Ray looked pained. "He's...not coming."

My eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"I don't know." Ray rubbed the bridge of his nose. "All he said was, and I quote, 'No one wants to see fat old men chasing ghosts.'"

I gasped. "But why?"

"I wish I knew." Ray sounded despondent and I couldn't blame him. I missed Peter and his wiseass cracks. It almost like a link in the chain was gone.

I shook my head. "Okay. So...what's the emergency?"

Ray looked over at Egon. "You tell it. You're the one who brought this whole thing up."

Egon nodded. "Winston, Jennifer, three days ago, I picked up portentously high PKE levels coming from Central Park. The levels were over 1300."

I froze. "But...but that's impossible."

"What?" asked Winston. "I know that's high, but it's nothing to worry about, right?"

"Oh, believe me, it is," I groaned. "Go on, Egon."

"At first I thought my equipment had to be errant," Egon continued. "But Ray and I took valences in the park and we made a frightening discovery."

"Let me guess," I said flatly. "A cross rip."

"Exactly." Egon nodded. "It's very premature, but it's expanding at a rapidly accelerating rate. It's vital that we close it immediately."

"Wait, I don't get it," Winston cut in. "What the hell is a cross rip?"

"A cross rip," I explained, "is a accidental opening between dimensions. It's kind of like a wormhole for ghosts and even _Class Seven demons_ to get into world."

Winston whistled. "Yeah, that's not good."

"So we were thinking that we'd just close it fast, before anybody could notice," Ray concluded.

I shook my head. "Look, Ray. I miss Ghostbusters as much as you do. But we just can't do this. You know that Peck would jump at the chance to lock us away again. We'd be putting ourselves at risk, jeopardizing our kids."

"They're not really kids. They're sixteen," Egon pointed out.

"Egon, you don't have a family. You wouldn't understand," I said without thinking.

The room became quiet.

"Yeah," muttered Egon. "I guess I don't."

Then I realized what I had said. "Oh my God! Egon, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean that-"

"No, it's...it's fine." Egon crossed his arms over his chest again as if nothing had happened. But he also kept his gaze to the floor, not looking me in the eye.

_Great job, Jennifer. Put your foot in your mouth, why don't you?_

This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. The five had once been as close as people could be. We had been family. But now, Venkman was missing and the remaining four could barely make conversation? Did Walter Peck really have that kind of power over us?

"Listen," said Ray, thankfully breaking the silence. "Obviously, the city's in danger. We're the only ones who can stop it. Is everybody in?"

Egon nodded.

"I'm ready," said Winston firmly.

Ray looked at me. "Jenny?"

I sighed, knowing I was going to regret this. "Well, if you guys are going to save the world, I guess you're going to need me to stop you from screwing it up... so count me in."

A small determined smile spread across Ray's face. "Alright!"

"Don't get excited," I said quickly. "It's just for this one time."

"I know, I know." Ray looked over at Egon. "So, what do we need to do before we close the rip?"

Egon thought for a moment. "Well, we definitely need to check the proton packs. There may be some technical problems just have transpired over the last few years, and we wouldn't want to be in possession of a faulty nuclear accelerator."

"That could have repercussions," I agreed.

"So I've got the packs locked in my office at the university. I'll probably be needing some help checking them over though," Egon continued. "Ray, could you come down to the school tomorrow?"

"Ah, sorry, Spengler," Ray said. "I'm busy tomorrow. Does the day after sound good?"

"That could work."

"I'm free tomorrow. Why don't I come by tomorrow and help you run some preliminary tests?" I suggested, eager for the chance to make amends about what I'd said.

Egon nodded.

"So...we're really doing this," Winston said.

"Yeah, Zedd," said Ray. "I guess we are."

I sighed. "Once a Ghostbuster, always a Ghostbuster."

* * *

**Graham**

I had just been about to walk into the kitchen, when I heard voices. I looked around the corner silently.

Four people were standing around our kitchen, three men and a woman. One of the men was my dad, but the other two men and the woman I didn't know.

"So...we're really doing this," my dad was saying.

One of the men, the chubbier one with the blind eye, spoke up. "Yeah, Zedd. I guess we are."

"Once a Ghostbuster, always a Ghostbuster," groaned the blonde woman.

The chubby one shook his head. "I still can't believe Venkman won't help us. It just be the same without him."

_Venkman? And what the hell is a Ghostbuster?_

"We'll succeed without him; we've done it before," said the tall guy with glasses.

I backed up and thought to myself, _I gotta tell Jeremy about this._

* * *

**So as you can see, I took a lot of ideas from the developments of Ghostbusters III (i.e., Ray's blindness, Peter's absence). I was gonna put Egon in a wheelchair but I changed my mind. And yes, Ray's lover Amber was pretty much a skank. Poor Ray, he falls too easily. Next chapter, it's back to the kids!**


	6. The Four of Us

**Jeremy**

I realized that my buddy Graham had been asking me a question for about a minute now, and I hadn't been paying attention. I'd kept glancing over at a lunch table a few feet from ours. That strange Alice girl who'd come up to me yesterday was sitting all by herself, reading a book. I couldn't forget that story she'd told me about Ghostbusters or whatever it was.

"So, can I?"

I shook my head slightly. "Uh...can you what?"

"Have your cookie. Can I?"

"Uh, yeah, whatever." I passed over the oatmeal and raisin.

Graham bit into the dessert. He's this big, black guy, super buff thanks to all the ROTC training. But he's real handy on the baseball diamond. "So why do you keep checking that girl out?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not _checking her out_. I was just looking at her. That a crime?"

Graham scrutinized Alice. "She's kinda cute," he mentioned casually.

"I, uh, didn't notice," I said, quickly biting into my sandwich. Ugh, tunafish. Mom had forgotten again. I guess she'd been too busy making her precious Oscar the budding violinist his favorite. Just because they both play instruments, she favors him over me. I'm glad he's off to college next year.

Graham gave me a look. "Yeah, uh-huh...listen. Your parents ever have guests over that you don't know?"

I shrugged. "Not really. How come?"

"Well, these people came over to our house last night. I guess they were friends of my dad or something, I don't know. They were saying weird stuff...and they mentioned your name."

"My name?" I asked incredulously. "Why would they be talking about me?"

Graham thought for a second. He's the kinda the strong silent type, always thinking about something. "I guess they weren't necessarily talking about you. They just said 'Venkman.' Maybe they know your dad or something."

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Graham paused. "There's something else, too. One of them said something about 'once a Ghostbuster, always a Ghostbuster."

I choked on my sandwich and started coughing. "Dude, you alright?" Graham asked anxiously.

I nodded and waved my hand. "Did you just say 'Ghostbuster'?" I gasped.

"Yeah." He gave me a funny look. "You know something I don't?"

I turned my head back to Alice. _I wonder..._

* * *

**Alice**

I had been deep into my book when I heard an _ahem_. I looked up.

Jeremy Venkman was standing over me with a tall, broad-shouldered black guy in an ROTC uniform. "Hi," said Jeremy.

"Uh...hi," I said nervously. "What's going on?"

Jeremy sat down next to me. My heart skipped a beat. "Listen," he said slowly. "We need to talk."

"Okay." I turned my eyes to the tall black guy. "Um, who is this?"

"Oh yeah," said Jeremy, as if he'd forgotten the guy was standing there. "  
This is Graham Zeddemore."

I froze. "Wait...as in Winston Zeddemore?"

"That's my father," said Graham in a deep voice. "How'd you know that?"

I looked back at Jeremy. "You're right; we do need to talk. But first, there's someone else needs to know what's going on."

"Who?" asked Jeremy.

"His name's Eddie. Eddie Stantz," I explained. "He's another kid of a Ghostbuster, Ray Stantz. He's in my advanced physics class. As a matter of fact," I pointed over to a table in the corner where a slightly pudgy boy with unkempt sandy blonde hair was sitting all alone, "he's right over there."

"Oh, I know him," Graham spoke up. "He's in my English class."

"Well let's go talk to him," said Jeremy. "I want to know what the hell is going on."

* * *

Eddie was doodling on a piece of paper. "Um, excuse me," I said tentatively.

Eddie looked up. "Oh, hi. Hey, don't I know you guys?"

I nodded. "Yes, you do. I'm Alice Wilcox, and this is Jeremy Venkman and Graham Zeddemore."

"What's up?" asked Jeremy.

"Nice to meet you," said Graham, nodding his head solemnly.

"Listen, Eddie," I said. "Have you ever heard of Ghostbusters?"

"Sure I have," replied Eddie. "My dad told me all about it."

"Really?" I asked surprisedly. "Because none of our parents told us about it until a couple of days ago."

"I still don't know what this is all about," said Graham. "What the hell is Ghostbusters?"

"I'll explain it in a minute," I told him and looked back at Eddie. "Look, my mom's name is Jennifer Colby. Does that mean anything to you?"

Eddie nodded. "Yeah. My dad said your mom was one of his best friends. And you guys," he turned to Jeremy and Graham, "must be Peter and Winston's kids, huh?"

"You got it," said Jeremy. He looked at me. "Okay, now tell Graham here about the business, I think he's gonna wet his pants."

So I told Graham the same thing I'd told Jeremy the previous day, with Eddie contributing some. "Jesus, it sounds like my dad was a real dud," grumbled Graham. "Wasn't he worth something to the team?"

"So you believe us?" I asked.

Graham shrugged. "Well yeah, I guess so. If Jeremy believes you, why shouldn't I?"

"Oh." I blinked. I couldn't believe it had been that easy. "Well anyway, so my mom came to your house?"

"Yeah, and so did Ray and that Igor guy," replied Graham.

"You mean Egon," I corrected.

"Yeah, that. So how come they were meeting up if they weren't supposed to be?"

"I don't know," I said slowly. "This could mean something bad."

"I'm fuzzy on the whole good-bad thing," said Jeremy. "What do you mean by bad?"

"Try to imagine our parents being locked away in a government facility for the rest of their lives."

"Alright, that's bad," Jeremy stated. "So the question is, what are they up to...and why didn't my dad show up?"

The bell suddenly rang. "Crap," I muttered. I snatched Eddie's piece of paper and quickly wrote down my address three times. Then I tore the piece of paper into three parts and handed them each a piece. "Look, after school today, let's meet up at my house and talk some more about all this, okay?"

They nodded. Eddie grabbed his backpack and said to all of us, '"Nice meeting you guys!" and rushed off.

"Odd kid, eh?" Jeremy whispered.

Graham walked back to his table to get his stuff. So it was just Jeremy and me. Gulp.

Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck. "So since we're both going to History...can I walk you to class?"

I felt my cheeks get warm. "Um...okay. I'd like that."

We started walking to History. "So, Alice," Jeremy said to me. "Why do you suppose they all met up? And why didn't my father go?"

"Well, I don't know about your father," I replied slowly. "But personally, I think there's been some kind of psychokinetic crisis which heralded the assistance of our parents."

"Whoa, whoa. Dumb it down for me, you know I'm stupid," Jeremy said.

"You're much better than you realize," I blurted.

Jeremy smiled a little. "You know, I get the feeling that we're in for the ride of our lives."

I sighed. "You said it, Venkman."

* * *

**Oh my God! It's time for chapter 7-I can't wait!**


	7. Wasn't Expecting That

**Oh my God, this was my favorite chapter to write! Seriously, I've been waiting for this chapter ever since I started the GB+Me series! Check out the Extreme Ghostbusters cameo below!**

* * *

**Jennifer**

I pushed open the door to Weaver Hall, where Egon was working now. "Old place hasn't changed a bit," I muttered to myself.

After the day, when I'd said what I'd said to Egon, about him not having a family, I could tell I'd hit a nerve. I'd felt awful. I had made up my mind to make it right.

I passed a couple of kids walking down the hall. "Excuse me," I asked them. "Could you tell where Dr. Spengler's office is?"

"Oh, no problem," said the girl in a deep voice, slightly Brooklyn accented. She was short and slender, with shoulder length, choppy black hair, dark eye shadow and black lipstick-definitely a Goth. She pointed to a door. "It's back there."

"Thanks," I replied, beginning to walk away, but the tall Hispanic boy with the earring stopped me. "You his girlfriend or something?" he asked me incredulously.

I laughed. "I'm not cool enough to be Dr. Spengler's girlfriend."

The Hispanic boy snorted. "Dr. Spengler? Cool?"

The Goth girl elbowed him in the ribs. "Dr. Spengler is cool, Eduardo! He used to be a Ghostbuster!" Then she turned back to me, scrutinizing me. "Hey, weren't you one too?"

I smiled and nodded. "Been a long time since I've been recognized as that." I stuck out my hand. "Dr. Jennifer Colby."

The girl shook my hand. "Kylie Griffin," she introduced, "and this is Eduardo Rivera."

Eduardo ran his fingers through his hair smoothly. "I'm a scientist," he bragged.

Kylie snorted. "In your dreams."

"Are you two students of Dr. Spengler?" I asked them.

"Yeah," replied Eduardo. "We've been studying so we can figure out what Kylie is."

"Ugh!" Kylie threw her arms in the air. "I am not Vampira!"

"Yipe!" squealed Eduardo as Kylie chased him out of the building. I shook my head and kept walking.

The door to the parapsychology lab, I noted, had changed. Ray and Peter's names had been removed a long time ago, along with the graffiti someone had scrawled once on the door, "VENKMAN BURN IN HELL." Now, only "Parapsychology Dept." and "Dr. Egon Spengler, Ph.D" remained.

I tentatively wrapped on the door. "Come in!" called a voice from the other side.

I opened the door and stuck my head in. "Hi."

Egon looked up from his desk, surprisingly clean shaven. "Hello."

I came inside and shut the door behind me. Egon stood up and we hugged. "You shaved your beard?" I asked.

"I thought it made me look kind of old," Egon admitted.

I shrugged. "I didn't think so. In fact, I thought you looked kind of...rugged."

Egon blushed a little. "Really?"

"Sure," I said, smiling. "So, where are the packs?"

"I'll get them." Egon stepped into another room.

I turned my eyes around the room. It was hard to think that I'd been here twenty three years ago, getting tested to see if I was psychic.

I wandered over to a bookshelf. _Let's see what you've been reading lately, Dr. Spengler_, I thought.

I looked at each of the books. They were all fairly standard for a parapsychologist: _Spates Catalog; Tobin's Spirit Guide; _Leon Sundinger's _Magicians, Martyrs, and Madmen; Twilight..._wait, what?

Egon came back in. "The packs are back here. Everything's set up."

I turned to him with an eyebrow raised. I pointed to the shelf. "Seriously? _Twilight_?"

"I use it for my research on vampires," Egon answered a little sheepishly.

"Right." I rolled my eyes. "Let's go check the packs."

* * *

It'd been about an hour. Egon and I had been hard at work. I'd thought about trying to make conversation, but I'd decided that Egon probably had his mind on his work, so I should too. Besides, I could apologize later.

I was pawing through the wires in one of the proton packs when suddenly, I noticed that one of the wires inside had broken. "Hey, Egon," I called. "Come here."

Egon came over and squatted beside me. "What is it?"

I pointed to the wire. "Look at this."

"Look at what?" he asked.

"This." I pointed again.

"I don't see it."

"How can you not-_ow_!" As I had turned to look at him, I'd ended up banging my head into his. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed.

"It's fine." He winced as he touched his head cautiously where I'd hit him. "Are you okay?"

I giggled a little. "I'm okay. Are you?"

He nodded, smiling a little himself. "Yeah. Why don't we take a break?"

"I second that," I agreed.

So we stood up and headed into the main office. I grabbed my purse and pulled a couple of Twinkies out. "Want one?" I offered to Egon.

He smiled, taking one from me. "You remembered."

"Of course I did." Then I paused. This would be as good a time as any to apologize. "Listen, Egon. About what I said yesterday...I'm so sorry. You know I didn't mean it."

He shook his head. "You were just stating a fact. And you were right: I don't have a family."

"Maybe, but I still hurt your feelings..." My voice trailed off. "Come to think of it, why didn't you ever get married?"

He blinked. My question had caught him off guard. "I guess I just didn't find the right girl," he finally answered.

"You mean, you never met anyone you wanted?" I asked.

"Well..." he turned away from me. "There was one."

My eyes widened. "What happened?"

"I waited too long. And she married someone else."

I think I knew who he was talking about: Janine. I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Egon. Can I tell you something?"

Egon nodded slowly.

I took a breath. "Look. I've always considered Ray to be my best friend out of you guys. But now that I think of it, he really wasn't. I mean, yeah, we were close, but Ray's close to everyone. You, on the other hand, have always been there for me. You're always the first one I come to with a problem and you always listen. You've never been afraid to tell me the truth about anything. _You_, Egon Spengler, are in fact my best friend. You're sweet and handsome and intelligent...this girl, whoever she may have been, must've been a real idiot not to notice what was right in front of her. You're gonna find somebody someday who deserves you."

He looked at me straight in the eyes. "You think so?" he whispered.

I smiled. "I know so."

Egon continued to stare at me.

After a few seconds, I realized he wasn't just looking at me because I was there, or because we were talking. He was looking for some other reason. It was strange. I hadn't been looked like at that since...Alex.

_Oh my God_, as realization came over me.

Egon hadn't been talking about Janine at all. Egon had been talking about...about..._me._

* * *

_1996_

_I signed my name to the divorce documents. Jennifer Wilcox._

Won't be Wilcox for long, _I thought. After the divorce was final, I would be changing my name back to Colby._

_I walked out of the courthouse, trying to ignore the fact that my vision was becoming blurry or that the corners of my eyes was stinging. I blinked hard. I would not cry. I refused to cry._

_I looked up to realize that a man was standing there on the sidewalk. I hadn't seen him five years or so. He looked much the same-same dark brown hair that stood straight up; same wire-rim glasses; same deep chocolate-colored eyes..._

"_E-Egon?" I sniffled. "What are you doing here?"_

"_I heard about you and Alex," he said. "I thought you might need a friend."_

"_But," I quickly wiped my eye. "But we're not supposed to-to see each oth-oh, Egon!" Before I knew it, I was running into his arms and sobbing into his sweater vest. I'd been on the edge of tears for a few weeks now, and Egon's unexpected yet welcome presence had pushed me over. "Why?" I wailed._

_Egon wrapped his arms around me. "It's okay," he said softly._

"_Why, Egon?" I whimpered. "Why did he cheat on me? Why wasn't I enough for him?"_

_He cupped my hands in his face. "Listen, Jenny," he whispered._

He called me Jenny, _I couldn't help but think._ He's never called me Jenny before. Only Ray ever called me Jenny.

"_Alex cheated on you because he was ashamed of himself," Egon continued. "He knew he wasn't worthy of someone as remarkable as you."_

_I shook my head fervently, tears pouring down my cheeks. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe that. I'm not special, I'm just...me."_

"_Yes, you are," agreed Egon. "You really have no idea of how amazing you are. You're smart and funny and beautiful...Alex knew he didn't deserve you. That's why he did what he did."_

_Surprisingly, I knew he was telling me the truth. And if it had been anyone else telling me these things, I wouldn't have believed them. But it was Egon._

_ I sniffed and tried to smile, even though my heart was breaking. "Thank you. Thank you, Egon. For being here for me."_

_I kissed him on the cheek and slowly walked away. I wouldn't see him again for another eleven years._

* * *

I blinked, shaking myself out of my epiphany. Egon and I were still standing there, staring at each other. My heart was racing. "Listen," I said slowly. "I have to go home...Alice will be home from school soon and I have to make dinner."

Egon nodded. "Go."

I turned. As much as I was scared to be there another minute, I didn't want to leave either.

Outside Weaver Hall, I climbed into my car. The radio automatically started playing. It was one of my current favorite songs, "Fallin' For You" by Colbie Caillat. _I've been waiting all my life an' now I find you, I don't know what to do-_

I quickly switched off the radio. That was one song I definitely didn't need to hear right now.

* * *

**Well, now you all know the BIG secret. Comment if you saw that coming from a mile away!**


	8. Technical Aspects

**Alice**

"Okay," said Jeremy. "What do we need to talk about?"

Jeremy, Graham, Eddie, and I were all sitting my living room. Eddie was cross-legged on the floor while Jeremy and Graham occupied the couch. I got up from my armchair and slowly paced back and forth.

Jeremy scrutinized me. "You've got something on your mind, don't you?"

"Well...yes," I admitted.

"Well, go ahead," Eddie encouraged.

I cleared my throat. "Well, I've been thinking. Why did our parents meet up yesterday?"

"You said you think something's up," said Jeremy.

I nodded. "That's right, I do. It's my personal belief that something's happened, some kind of psychokinetic emergency."

Eddie gasped. "No way."

"You know what she said?" asked Graham.

"Of course I do. If there's been an occurrence of psychic turbulence in the area, then we need to do something fast," said Eddie.

"Yes. You get my point," I replied.

"Well, I sure don't," Jeremy cut in.

"Me either," added Graham. "What do you mean, do something?"

I took a breath. "I think we need to...to be Ghostbusters."

Jeremy and Graham stared at me for a second, then at each other. Eddie, on the hand, spoke up. "I agree. There's obviously something going on. Otherwise, why would our parents get back together?"

"Look, you mean you want us to catch ghosts?" asked Jeremy.

"Well, no, not exactly," I said quickly. "I think we ought to investigate what's going on."

"I have a theory," said Eddie. "My dad was on the phone a couple of nights ago. He kept saying that the levels were over 1300. I think he was talking about PKE levels."

"What the hell is PKE?" asked Jeremy.

"Psychokinetic energy," I replied.

"Sorry I asked," he muttered, resting his head on his chin.

"PKE levels that big usually point to some big primal entity on the horizon," Eddie continued. "So, long story short, I think there's some kind of major demon coming."

"I think you may be accurate," I confirmed. "So, we need to do a little paranormal investigating and hopefully stop whatever's coming in its tracks."

"Well, I'm all for that," Jeremy said. "Too bad I don't believe in ghosts."

"Me too," stated Graham. "And I'm not gonna believe in them until I see one."

"Neither am I," declared Jeremy.

My heart sank. "You mean...you don't want to help?"

My face must've shown my disappointment because Jeremy leaped up off the couch. He touched my arm. "Hey, I didn't say that," said Jeremy. "I really do want to help. I just don't believe in ghosts."

"Okay." I smiled a little. Then I turned to Graham. "Do you want to help? You don't have to if you don't want," I added quickly.

Graham thought about it for a moment. I could tell he was a thinker. "Alright."

I grinned. "Good. Now, we need equipment. As far as I know, the Ghostbusters must've used some sort of weapons."

"Proton packs and ghost traps," Eddie said. "But if it's primal spirits we're worried about, we're gonna need something stronger, more powerful."

"What the hell is a proton pack?" I asked, bewildered. Mom hadn't told me about that one.

"It's more formally known as a positron glider or nuclear accelerator," explained Eddie. "It runs off of nuclear-fissional energy. It emits particle streams ionically parallel to the apparitional level for the purpose of having physical contact with ethereal beings."

"I get it," I said, nodding my head. "Very logical."

"Hubba-what?" said Jeremy, his mouth hanging open.

"Basically, it's a big box with a stick on it that shoots out a beam that grabs ghosts," Eddie added for his and Graham's benefit.

"Oh..." said Jeremy and Graham at the same time.

"So what do you mean by stronger?" I asked, pushing my glasses up my nose, deep in thought. "What more powerful than nuclear energy?"

"Nothing is," replied Eddie. "But the technology that our parents used to use wasn't advanced as it could be nowadays. Their packs were no match for Gozer."

"Alright, now who the hell is Gozer?" asked Graham.

"He's a Sumerian god who the Ghostbusters battled back in the day," replied Eddie.

"But they defeated him, didn't they?" I asked.

"Well yeah, but only because they were able to shut the gateway that he had come through into our world, and because Gozer was a shape-shifter who turned into something they could physically destroy," Eddie explained.

"And just what was that?" Jeremy inquired.

"A giant marshmallow man," said Eddie. Then he continued as if what he'd just said hadn't been strange or anything. "But still, the packs alone couldn't take him. It was really out of pure dumb luck and some quick thinking on Egon Spengler's part that they won. But anyway, I've studying some of my dad's and Dr. Spengler's old blueprints, and I think I could build a device that molecularly transport entities out of our dimension and back into their own."

"No way!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Tell us more!"

"I'm getting a headache," groaned Jeremy.

"I have some preliminary sketches-" Eddie started to reach into his bag, but suddenly, we heard the door open and close. "Alice?" called a voice.

"Oh, shit," I whispered. "My mom's home!"

Mom walked into the living room. I could tell she had been crying for some reason. I watched her eyes darted from boy to boy. I could practically hear her mind click as she made the connection as to who they were.

I was in trouble.

* * *

**I never got to explain this in Chapter 6, but Eddie is a mechanical genius, just like his father. He's even more well informed than Alice. But he's kind of has an advantage, since Eddie's known about Ghostbusters ever since he was basically a little kid. But Alice is super smart in physics, so once she hears what the proton packs are, she completely understands. And of course, Jeremy and Graham don't have a clue. Don't misjudge them though, it's not their fault they're the "dumb" ones...and they're really not, they just don't get physics. They haven't learned about it in school yet. Oh, and if you thought that last chapter was good, wait until Chapter 9. Things really start heating up. Stay tuned!**


	9. Mass Hysteria

**Winston**

After work, Ray and I had come over to the university to help Egon check the equipment. "I still can't believe we're doing this," I said. "I mean, aren't we getting a little old for this?"

Ray shrugged. "Maybe we are, Zedd. But the city needs us."

"But still," I said, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm too damn old to be carrying around a sixty-pound proton pack on my back."

"I know," sighed Ray. "I'm not sure how I'm gonna do this with my bum knee."

"Look, this thing in the park...is it really all that urgent?" I asked nervously. I secretly agreed with Jennifer, we were putting our families in danger.

Ray looked grave. "Believe me, Winston...I'm worried, too. But I just have this feeling...I can't really explain it, but I think that we were meant to get back together."

I thought about that for a second. Maybe he was right.

Egon had been working on one of the packs. He'd very quiet, quieter than usual, I'd noticed. "Hey, man. You alright?" I asked.

"I'm fine." Egon's voice came out flat and kind of bleak.

Ray and I looked at each other. He was obviously not fine.

We'd all known about Egon's feelings for Jennifer...except for her, of course. Jennifer had never had a clue. I guessed something had happened between the two of them.

"So...what did you and Jennifer do earlier?" I asked carefully.

"We checked the packs and Jennifer found a broken wire in one of them," Egon answered.

"And that's all that happened?" said Ray skeptically.

Egon sighed and turned to face the two of us, his face twisted into a grimace. "Fine. I tried to tell her, she got scared and left. Now can we get back to the packs, please?"

He turned his back to us, trying to ignore us. Ray and I shared another look, this time worried. "What do you mean she got scared?" asked Ray.

"I don't know...I guess I just surprised her."

"I don't see how," I sighed. "It was so obvious the whole time."

"Apparently not to her," Ray pointed out. "I can't believe she never picked up on it."

"Yeah, I'm a lovesick idiot, I get the point," grumbled Egon.

"Egon, don't be so down on yourself," I said. "You may not believe it, but she's in love with you too."

"I'm sure," said Egon sarcastically.

"No, I mean it, Spengler," I insisted. "If you had told her how you felt about her before she met that scumbag, she'd have fallen to your feet."

Egon shook his head slowly. "I don't think so."

"Oh yeah?" Ray spoke up. "Ever noticed how every time she was scared, she'd come running to you? How she'd always tell you her problems? Jennifer loves you, Spengs. She just doesn't realize it."

"Then why did she-" Egon's words were cut off as we heard a loud bang.

"What the hell was that?" I exclaimed.

The door to the lab flew open, and in waltzed a smirking Walter Peck, flanked by a couple of secret service men. "Ghostbusters," Peck sneered at the three of us.

"Peck! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed.

"I'm taking Dr. Spengler and Dr. Stantz here to federal prison for violating a restraining order." Peck grinned wickedly at the thought.

"On what grounds?" I demanded.

"I don't have to explain myself to you bozos. I'm head of the CIA and I can arrest whomever I feel necessary," Peck bragged. He turned to his cohorts and pointed to Ray and Egon. "Detain these two!"

The SS troops stepped forward and grabbed Ray and Egon by the wrists. "You can't do this!" I protested.

"I can do whatever I want," said Peck with a smug look. I seriously wanted to smack him. "Take them away."

Ray looked at me. "Winston, you have to call Jennifer."

I nodded. "I will."

I watched as the SS men pushed him and Egon out. Peck was about to follow them out, when suddenly, he turned to me. "You know," he said. "The only regret that I had in this whole thing is that I didn't get to incarcerate Mr. Venkman. It's too bad that he had more sense than the rest of you not to get involved."

He gave me one last smirk and marched out.

* * *

**Jennifer**

I still don't know how I drove home that day without having a serious accident. My head was in a fog.

Egon was in love with me. Egon was in love with me. Egon was in love with me. No matter how many times I said that sentence to myself, I still couldn't believe it.

The crazy thing, I realized, was that somehow, _I had already known_. Somehow, I'd already known that Egon loved me, yet the concept blew my mind.

Louis Tully's voice from 1989, right before we'd fought Vigo, came back to me: _She said something like 'Egon's always had his sights set on someone else' or something._

And even a few days ago, Mrs. Haversham had told me: _Oh, if only you could see how much he cares for you, how much he misses you._

Hell, Egon had even told me himself once, on the rooftop when we were fighting Gozer. I'd always thought he'd meant it completely platonically, but now, I realized, he had been expressing his love. And I'd completely ignored him.

How could I have been so Goddamn stupid?

I felt disgusted with myself. I'd known the whole time, and I'd completely ignored the fact that Egon was in love with me. He'd had to watch me marry Alex and hadn't said a word. Instead, he'd walked me down the aisle. Egon had escorted me to marry another man. How could I have been so cruel to put him through that?

Egon had always been there for me when I needed a friend. Even when it could have put him in jail, he still rushed to my aide.

He was always willing to listen to me. He was the most brilliant person I'd ever met. He respected me enough to tell me the truth, even when he knew it would hurt. He never judged me. He had beautiful brown eyes that saw everything about me, good and bad.

I felt something stirring inside me. It made me feel ecstatic and terrified and stricken all at the same time. My heart was thumping like crazy. I felt tears well up in my eyes.

Oh my God. Oh my _God._

I loved Egon. I was in love with Egon Spengler.

The realization hit me like a truckload of bricks.

I was in love with him. The thought scared the shit of me. Egon being my friend, my secret keeper, my shoulder to cry on, that had always been something that I could believe in. In a way, I'd always relied on that fact to keep me sane. When everything in my life had been altered, I always had that fact to rely on.

And now I couldn't even rely on that.

This revelation, that I was in love with him, told me that I could truly believe in nothing. It was almost as if everything I knew was really something else. What other facts about my life were a lie?

I cried. I cried and cried and cried.

* * *

After a while, I sat up and drove myself home. "You're being melodramatic," I muttered. "Suck it up, Colby."

I pulled up in front of my apartment building and rode the elevator up to my floor. I hoped Alice wouldn't notice I'd been crying.

When I walked inside our apartment, I heard voices coming from the living room. "Alice?" I called.

I walked into the living room and got another surprise. Just what I needed today.

A red headed, freckled boy and a broad shouldered black boy were sitting on the couch, while a sandy blonde, hefty boy was on the floor, sifting through a backpack. Alice was standing in the middle of the room, guilt scrawled all over her face.

I stared at each of the boys. I didn't know who they were, but I had a pretty good guess.

"Uh, Mom...these are some of my friends from school," Alice tried to explain.

I nodded. "Yes, I know who they are."

She sank to the ground. "Oh. Great."

The ginger boy pretended to look at his watch. "Well, would you look at the time? Look, it's been fun, but uh, I gotta get going. C'mon, Graham," he said quickly, grabbing the black boy's arm.

"You tell Peter I said hi," I called after him. He froze for a second, then quickly started heading for the door again.

"Uh yeah, I have to go to," said the blonde boy. "I gotta help my dad at the store." He hopped up and hurried after the other two.

I heard the door slam shut. I stared down at my daughter. She looked up at me sheepishly.

"Mom...have you been crying?" Alice asked concernedly.

"Don't change the subject."

Alice looked down at the floor. "Sorry."

"Look," I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "I can't tell you who to be friends with. In fact, I'm glad you've made some. But it...it's just not a good idea to go down that road."

"Uh...what road?" Alice asked as if she didn't know what I was talking about. Which she did.

"Alice, you're not an idiot, so don't pretend to be. I know who those boys are. If you try to open Ghostbusters, you're only going to be putting yourselves in danger."

She stood up. "Mom, I can take care of myself. I really think we can help you guys. Just tell us what's going on, please!"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you get in trouble."

Alice gave me one last look. "Why can't you just trust me?"

And with that, she ran out of the room.

I groaned and sat down. _Why can't my life just be normal?_

Suddenly, my cell rang. I looked at the caller ID: Winston. I opened the phone. "Hey, Zedd," I said. "Look, this isn't the greatest time right now-"

Winston cut me off. "Jennifer, the guys have been arrested."

I froze. "Wait...what?"

"Ray and Egon, Peck took them away!"

_No. Not...Egon!_ "Alright, I'll be at your house right away."

* * *

**Hint, hint: the return of some old characters will be appearing soon! :)**

**Oh, by the way, I'm considering doing a Part 4, about the kids. What do you think, should I just finish and leave at this? You tell me. Comment please!**


	10. An Old Friend

**Jennifer**

I tried to ignore the stares we were getting as Winston and I raced down the streets of New York. "Do we really have to ride in this hearse?" Winston asked me unsurely.

"Yes, we do. I have a feeling we're gonna need it."

Winston looked out the window at the engrossed onlookers pointing and yelling. I guess it had been a while since any of them had seen old Ecto. Plus, she was dusty and a little clanky after fifteen years of sitting in the firehouse unattended.

I'd broken into the firehouse to steal the Ectomobile. The Ghostbusters weren't allowed within ten feet of the old place, but I figured what the hell? We'd had already broken all the rules anyway. What more could Peck do to us?

I was seething. How dare he. How dare Peck lock up Egon and Ray? The two men I loved most dearly on this whole planet?

Egon. I'd hadn't gotten the chance to tell him. It was most likely that I never would. Everything depended on my plan.

About three hours later, we were standing on the steps of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC: the White House. "Jennifer, this is insane. You really think we're gonna be able to see the _President of the United States_?" Winston asked me incredulously.

I gave him a grin. "Of course we will, Winnie. He's an old friend of ours, after all. We'll just say we want to say hello and give him a kiss."

Winston shook his head. "And I used to think Venkman was the crazy one. Alright, so what's the plan?"

I hesitated, then shook my head and started walking inside. "I don't know."

* * *

"Look, you don't understand!" I exclaimed to the security guards about ten minutes later. "It's a matter of international security that we see the President immediately!"

"Yeah, yeah, you and every other nutball off the street," grumbled the head officer. "Now lady, you and your friend clear outta here pronto!"

"But...but...but I'm a voter! You're supposed to lie to me and kiss my butt!" I pleaded. "Please, we have to see the President! Please!"

"Ma'am, nobody sees the President unless you're a government official or some poor little tyke with cancer. Now if you two don't leave this minute-"

"Tell the President," Winston spoke up, "'Who ya gonna call?'"

The officer gave him a funny look. "What? Do I look like a messenger boy or some-"

"Just tell him." Winston's voice was amiable, yet commanding. "He'll know."

The officer sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but...alright."

He turned and walked away, shaking his head. I turned to Winston, astounded. "How the hell do you do that?"

Winston shrugged. "It's a gift."

"I'll say," I muttered.

* * *

**Lenny**

It had been a rather peaceful day in the Oval Office. No stressful press conferences, no annoying foreign dignitaries to deal with...not even so much as a new bill to sign. A very rare day in my book.

But that was all about to change in the uttering of four little words.

One of my secret service men marched in, looking stern and official as usual. I didn't much like them, they made me kind of uneasy. "Yes?" I asked.

"Sir, you've had a message from one of the downstairs security guards."

I nodded. "Send him in."

The SS agent stepped out and came back in, this time accompanied by a harried looking guard. "What's happening?" I asked.

"Your Excellency," the guard said, sounding a little dumbfounded. "This is gonna sound a little ludicrous...but there's a couple of people downstairs are insisting to see you. They say it's a matter of extreme importance."

I raised an eyebrow. "They seem dangerous?"

"Uh-uh. They seem like they're alright, Sir. I just had this feeling in my gut that you should see 'em, and I gotta tell ya, my gut's never steered me wrong before."

I sighed. "Look, they're probably just some crazy peace activists or something. They usually are. Tell them if they have an issue with the way I run my country, take it up with their local congress first." I turned my swivel chair around to face the window.

"Yes, Sir." The guard nodded and started to back out, then paused. "There's something else too, Your Excellency. One of 'em said to tell ya something like 'Who ya gonna call' or something."

I whirled back around. "They said _what_?"

The guard shrugged. "Yeah, one of 'em said 'Who ya gonna call?' Said you'd know what it means."

I did know what that meant. All too well.

I remembered what the former President, Bill Clinton, had told me just before I'd taken office. "Son, sometimes you're gonna have some hard decisions to make. If you've really got the makings of a good President, you'll be able to hear that little voice in the back of your head guiding you. If you follow that voice, you'll always make the right decision."

Of course, I had thought at the time that he was just drunk again. But now, I could see what he talking about. I wasn't sure if I should trust the voice though. It apparently had guided Billy to "have sex with that woman."

I sighed, knowing I was going to regret what I had to do here. "Let them come in." _Just PLEASE don't let it be Venkman._

Fortunately, it wasn't. It wasn't even those those two geeks who never spoke plain English. It was the normal ones, Winston Zeddemore and the girl, Jennifer Colby. I inwardly let out a sigh of relief. But I was still apprehensive. It was still the Ghostbusters, after all.

"Alright, this better be pretty damn important," I said.

"Oh it is, President Hines," Winston spoke up. "It's about our friends, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler."

"Mr. President, do you have any idea as to who is running your CIA?" Jennifer asked.

I paused, a little embarrassed to admit I didn't. "I thought not," Jennifer nodded. "Sir, do you know why the Ghostbusters broke up back in '91?"

I shrugged. "I assumed you'd just gotten tired of the whole charade."

"No, that wasn't the reason at all. We were forcibly shut down by the head of the CIA..." she paused for effect. "Walter Peck."

My head snapped at the name. "What? That EPA idiot is running my secret service?"

"Yes Sir, Mr. President," said Winston. "And now he's arrested Ray and Egon."

"Sir, you're the only one who can get Peck to release our friends," said Jennifer. "You have to do something!"

I shook my head. "Look. I can't control what rules Peck makes up. If he's head of the CIA, then he's got every right to lock your friends away."

"But they didn't do anything wrong! There has to be some way to get them out!" Jennifer protested.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Dr. Colby, but there's nothing I can do."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside the door. "What the?" I muttered.

Suddenly, an ax passed through the double doors.

A ghostly foot stepped through the hole, followed by the rest of a man's body. He had curly white hair pulled into a ponytail at the back, and he was wearing a three-cornered hat and a long black coat over colonial looking clothes.

"George Washington!" exclaimed Jennifer. "He's a ghost!"

"_I cannot tell a lie..._" moaned George. "_I'm going to kill you all!_"

He swung the ax at us. "Aaaah!" I cried as the ax came three inches from shaving my face off. I sprang out of the way. "Help! Do something!" I cried.

Jennifer shrugged. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, Lenny."

"Alright, alright! I get your friends released! Just get rid of him!" I yelped as George took another blow toward my head. "Yipe!"

Jennifer grinned at Winston. "Told you we could convince him."


	11. Looking Up

**Jennifer**

The equipment was brought into the Oval Office. As usual, my intuition had pointed me in the right direction; it was right to bring the Ectomobile and the stuff inside. As I'd gotten older, my psychic abilities weren't quite as prevalent as they were back in the old days, but occasionally, I'd get a feeling I just knew I had to follow...

I picked up my old pack. As it had been fifteen years ago, it was still incredibly heavy. "We are really getting too old for this," I groaned.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Winston pulled on his own pack. "Now let's go fight us a Founding Father."

"It's funny," I remarked. "First time back in the pack, and we're fighting a celebrity spirit. How many people say they busted George Washington?"

"How many people can say they've busted a ghost period?" Winston pointed out.

I laughed. "_Touché_! Now let's kick it!"

We stood in the middle of the room, ready to shoot at whatever popped out at us. "Anytime now..." I whispered.

I had to admit, I was a little giddy. I had thought that I had just missed my friends. But now I realized that I had missed Ghostbusting too. Busting made me feel good.

It was silent. Then suddenly...

"_Eiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!_" George flew out of the wall swinging his ax over his head. He zoomed right at me, screeching.

"Hey, George! Take those wooden teeth of yours and chew on this!" I yelled as I fired. The familiar orange beam shot out and latched itself onto the Specter-in-Chief.

"Great job, Jennifer! I'll get the trap!" Winston yelled. I nodded. Winston hurried over to pick up the trap when all of a sudden, _another_ ghost popped out of the wall. This one was tall and lean, and had a beard and a tall top hat. "_Four score and seven years ago..._" it wailed.

"Abraham Lincoln!" I exclaimed. "What's next? Thomas Jefferson?"

Winston fired at Abe. "At least it's not William Taft! He'd never fit into the trap!"

I giggled in spite of the situation. Winston's stream attached itself to the ghost of Honest Abe.

I cheered. "You got him! Now get the-oh, crap!" I exclaimed, realizing both our hands were full. Neither of us could get the trap!

"What do we do now?" Winston yelled. "Should I throw this one back?"

"No, no!" I called. "We only brought one trap! If you do that, we'll have to trap them individually and that's not a good idea!" I thought fast. "Okay! I'm gonna try to get it with my foot!"

"What? Are you crazy?"

"I'm a Ghostbuster! Of course I'm crazy!" I replied.

I carefully inched toward the trap laying in the corner, dragging Georgie along with me. When I reached it, I carefully hooked my foot around the handle and projected it forward. It landed in approximately the middle of the Seal.

"Atta girl, Jennifer!" cheered Winston.

"Don't give me any accolades yet!" I replied. I pushed the pedal a little closer to the trap, so I could step on it and allow George to hover over the trap. "Alright, on my mark! One..."

Winston swung Abe over the trap. "Two..."

"_You will regret this_!" the ghosts howled.

"Not a chance, you hackneyed politicians! Three!" I stomped on the button. The trap swung open and the ex-Presidents disappeared.

"Hell yeah!" I cheered. "We still got it!"

Winston and I high-fived.

The door opened cautiously and Lenny poked his head in the room. "Are they gone?"

I nodded. "These ghosts are toast."

"So Mr. President," said Winston. "We filled our part of the deal. Now..."

Lenny nodded. "I'll send for Peck."

* * *

Wally Wick himself sauntered through the double doors. "Your Excellency," he simpered.

"Cut the crap, Pecker," I growled. "Where the hell are Egon and Ray?"

"Peck, why did you arrest the two men?" Lenny asked.

"The men in question have violated a restraining order administered by myself to stop investigation and elimination in the paranormal. I was forced to take them into custody," Peck answered.

"You had no right, Peck," I snapped. "Egon and Ray were just taking valences in Central Park. There was no Ghostbusting involved. You have to let them go!"

"I will not release Spengler or Stantz. They've broken a law and they must be punished forthwith," Peck said simply. He smirked at me.

"Look, Peck," said Winston. "You don't understand. There's an emergency on our hands. We need to stop it before it gets out of hand!"

"Don't patronize me! I'm not grotesquely stupid," Peck retorted.

"Coulda fooled me," I muttered.

Peck glared at me. "So long as I am in charge of the Central Intelligence Agency, your fellow Ghostbusters will not be released. And that's that."

Anger flared inside of me. Not my scientist! "Why you-" I lunged forward to throttle Peck, but Winston grabbed my arms. "I'll tear you to pieces!" I howled.

"Jennifer, calm down," whispered Winston.

I whirled around to face him. "I won't, Win! He locked away Egon!"

He hugged me. "I know. I know."

"So, Peck. As long as you're head of the CIA, their friends won't get out of prison, is that what you're saying?" Lenny affirmed.

"Correct," Peck nodded.

"Fine," said the President. "Then you're fired."

The room was deadly silent. The smug look on Peck's face dissolved. "What did you say, Sir?"

"You heard me. Guards," Lenny said to the SS men. "Get him out of here."

The guards stepped forward and grabbed Peck by the arms. "No! Wait! You can't do this to me! Not again!" cried Peck as he was dragged out the double doors.

Lenny turned to me and smiled. "You scratched my back, I scratch yours, right?"

A wide grin spread across my face. And I emphatically hugged the President of the United States.

* * *

Outside the White House, the SS soldiers marched out, accompanied by two dear friends. My heart lifted about ten feet.

"Egon!" I exclaimed. I ran to him and embraced him.

Egon cautiously wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face in his chest and breathed in his scent. "I was so scared," I whispered.

"I was too," he murmured back. "Are you alright?"

I looked into his gorgeous brown eyes and nodded. "I am now."

"So," Winston spoke up. I'd almost forgotten he and Ray were there. I let go of Egon awkwardly and turned to face all of them. "What do we do now?"

"We have to get back to New York and close the rip," Ray replied. "Right now."

"Need any help with that?" a wonderfully familiar voice said behind me.

I whirled around, hardly daring to believe my ears. My eyes confirmed the identity of the voice's person: "Peter!"

* * *

**What, you really thought I'd do this story without Venkman? Then there'd be no one to trash! :P**


	12. Fix the Rip

I gave Peter a bear hug. "It's so good to see you!" Then I pulled back, giving him the once-over. "You've gotten grey on us, Venkman," I remarked.

Peter's dark hair had indeed turned quite grey. Unlike the rest of us, however, he had managed to stay scrawny, and his smug face and demeanor remained much the same. I was so glad that none of us had changed much in fifteen years.

Peter snorted. "And you've gotten kind of wide, blondie. But I'm a gentleman, so I won't mention that."

I smacked his arm playfully. "You sure haven't lost your charm over the years, I see."

"Of course not." Peter smirked at me.

"Pete! It's great to see you!" Ray greeted. "How'd know where we were?"

Peter shook his head. "Who doesn't know where you are? It's all over the news: 'Ghostbusters Back in Business, Ectomobile Sighted at White House.' You guys really know how to make a comeback. What the hell's going on anyway?"

Suddenly, my thrill from seeing Peter turned to ire as I realized that I was ticked off at him for refusing to help us before. "Well you'd know that you had come to help when we called!" I snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Peter, holding up his hands in defense. "What's with all this hostility, kid?"

"We needed your help, Peter! And you just blew us off like we were nothing! And now that the storm clouds are cleared, you return to save the day and get the glory?" I accused. "Screw you!"

"Look, Jennifer, I'm sorry," said Peter, sounding sincere for one of the few times in his life. "But I have a wife and two sons and they can't get in trouble just because their old man wants to relive his glory days."

My temper dropped a bit. "I know. I was scared too, Pete. I wanted to protect my daughter. But I came anyway. I came for my family. Don't we matter to you at all?"

Peter threw up his arms. "Of course you guys matter! You think I'd be here if you didn't? Here I am, putting myself in danger of getting arrested by Peck again and that's not good enough-"

"Wait," I stopped him. "You mean...you haven't heard Peck was fired?"

"He was?" Peter asked confusedly.

I nodded. "President Lenny fired him because he tried to arrest Ray and Egon."

"Oh," said Peter. "That's good news."

I looked down at the ground, a little ashamed that I'd yelled at him. "I'm sorry, Pete."

"I am too. You're right, I should've been there," Peter apologized.

I smiled and hugged him. "Well, you're here now. That's all that matters."

"Alright! The gang's all here!" cheered Ray.

"It's great that you're here, Peter," said Egon. "But now we need to get back to New York and close that cross rip."

I nodded. "Let's go, guys. It's time to save the world again."

* * *

We pulled up in front of Central Park. We all got out and grabbed our uniforms. I pushed my arms through the sleeves of my coveralls. "Hello, old friend," I found myself whispering to it.

"Talking to yourself, princess?" Peter sneered.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not, Pete. I'm talking to my clothes."

"Oh, I see," Peter nodded. "That makes sense."

I started to zip myself up, but I discovered that I could barely do it. "Uh, did somebody wash my suit on cold or something?" I asked the rest of the guys.

"It's not just you, Jenny," Ray grunted as he struggled with his own zipper. "I think we've all put on a little weight in fifteen years."

"Too many Twinkies," I said, shooting Egon a small grin. He smiled a little himself.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" asked Winston.

I rolled my eyes. "Winston, you ought to know better than that. We never have a plan; we just improvise."

"Good point," mused Winston.

We pulled on our packs. "Okay, guys. Where's the rip?" Peter asked.

"This way," said Egon. He and Ray started walking away; Peter, Winston, and I in pursuit.

The wind was whipping up a storm. It blew my hair around. I was thankful it was short.

Egon and Ray reached some trees. Ray peeked through them. "Oh my God."

"What is it?" I asked worriedly.

Egon looked at me. "It's gotten bigger."

We proceeded through the trees. I gasped.

It was a giant black hole, at least twelve feet in diameter, hovering in mid-air. In the inside, it looked like the aerial view of a tornado, spinning like a vortex.

I could see why Egon had said it was "expanding at a rapidly accelerating rate." Before my very eyes, the edges of the hole were shimmering and expanding. Soon, it would be bigger than a car. It almost was the size of one now.

I shuddered. "I wouldn't want to meet this thing in a dark alley." Egon patted my shoulder, the way he always used to when I was upset. I felt my heart skip a beat, like I was a little schoolgirl with a crush or something.

"We have to close that thing immediately," called Ray over the breeze. "There's no telling if something's already escaped through it."

"And just how the hell do we do that?" asked Peter.

"I...I don't know!" Ray admitted. "It's not like we can trap it, or even disperse the molecules into the atmosphere."

"Well, there has to be some way to undo the cross rip." I looked at Egon. "What should we do?"

Egon paused, deep in thought. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I can't help but note how cute he was when he was thinking. "I'm not sure how to say this," he said carefully, "but there's only one way I know of to close this rip."

"What's that, Egghead?" Peter inquired.

"We have to reverse the particle flow." Egon gave Ray a knowing look.

Ray's eyes widened. "No way, Spengs. You can't be serious...we barely came out alive the last time."

"What?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Jennifer, do you remember the last time we had an interdimensional gateway?" Egon said gravely.

"Yeah, when we fought Goz-" I stopped short as I remembered our big adventure from 1984. "Oh, hell no! Not that old bit! Are you nuts? We'll be killed!"

"Not necessarily," Egon said quickly. "There's definitely a very slim chance we'll survive."

"Alright, you would you three professors tell me what's going on?" Peter exclaimed.

"Three guesses, Venky," I said. "Here's a hint: try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light."

Peter thought for a moment. "Oh...right. That."

"That's right," I said, nodding. "We have to cross the streams...again."

The five of us stared at each other.

"Hey, who says it turn out badly?" said Ray, trying to generate some hope. "I mean, we lived the last time, right? And all that got destroyed was the roof of a building and a hundred foot marshmallow."

"I hope you're right, Ray," I said nervously.

"Let's just get this over with," said Winston. He fired his stream, straight into the center of the black hole.

I sighed and let mine go too. Peter, Ray, and Egon followed suit. "Okay, let's get 'em together!" yelled Ray over the roar of the streams.

We pulled our wands together and the five individual streams formed one super-stream. I looked up from our work to see that the hole appeared to be shrinking. "It's working!" I cried.

The diameter was increasing slowly but surely. It was ten feet...nine feet...

"Okay, shut off the streams when I give the signal!" shouted Ray.

Seven feet...six feet...

"Get ready... get ready..." My finger inched toward the switch, ready to turn it off at a moment's notice. Three feet...two feet...

"Get ready...ready..." Twelve inches...six...

"Ready...NOW!" he yelled just as the minute rip was closing. I flicked the switch and jerked my wand away from the others.

With a loud whoosh, the hole closed itself and disappeared.

I froze for a few seconds, waiting for some sort of explosion. But it was silent, except for some birds chirping and the wind, which had gone down to a slight breeze.

"Well that wasn't such a chore, now was it?" asked Ray cheerfully.

"Yeah," I said, a little surprised. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but that was...easy."

"Wasn't so hard," Peter mused.

"We had the tools, we had the talent!" Winston said happily.

I was about to start laughing from relief when suddenly, a cold clammy feeling came over me. "Uhhhh," I moaned, feeling weak in the knees.

"Jennifer? What is it?" Egon asked concernedly.

"I...I don't know," I groaned. "I just felt something for a second...I think there's something here."

Egon's eyebrows knit together. He pulled out his PKE meter and studied it for a second. "Shit!" he spat.

"Spengy! What is it?" Ray asked.

"She's right. Something escaped through the rip," Egon stated. "We were too late."

"What is it?" asked Winston.

"I can't tell. These readings are too high for the meter to configure. It's never had to tackle such high levels of psychokinetic energy before," Egon answered. "Whatever it is, it's not good."

"So what are we talking?" Peter inquired. "Class Six? Class Seven?"

Egon looked at him. "Try Class _Nine_."

I gasped. "Not even Gozer was that high! What the hell are we dealing with?"

Suddenly a moan issued from behind in some language I'd never heard before. We whirled around. "Holy...shit!" I hissed.

* * *

**Not sure how this chapter turned out, I wrote it at like five am this morning. Whatever.**


	13. Armageddon

It was big, at least ten feet tall. Its dark grey hooded shroud was flapping in the ethereal winds the monster was generating. The robe itself was tattered, and so baggy that it was impossible to see who...or what...was underneath. Where the face should have been was just a black void that I found I couldn't stare directly into without feeling like I was dying.

And it was hovering about five feet from our noses.

"Egon!" I screeched. "What is that thing?"

"I'm not sure!" he yelled back.

Another frightening rasp issued from the thing in the hood. But the scary thing was, it didn't sound like it was coming from the direction of the beast. It sounded like it was coming from the inside of my own mind.

"Hey! I saw one of these in Harry Potter!" called Peter.

"Venkman, now is not the time for jokes!" I shouted at him.

"What?" he asked, shrugging. "Just laughing in the face of death."

The d-word chilled me to the bone. I quickly turned back to Egon. "Is that what it is? Death? The grim reaper?"

"Not exactly," said Egon slowly.

The creature groaned menacingly. "What the hell is it saying?" I yelled.

"I believe it's speaking Sanskrit," stated Egon.

"Well okay! You speak that, right? What's it saying?" I asked urgently.

"It says its name is _era mahemis finito_," Egon translated. "In English, it would translate to..." he paused. Then he finally said, "Armageddon."

My heart began to thump harder. "But...but that's the end of the world!"

Egon nodded gravely. "Armageddon has been trapped in the sixth dimension, or the Underworld, since the last time the population was wiped out in a giant flood."

"You mean, Noah's ark?" I asked incredulously. "That giant flood?"

"Exactly," Egon confirmed.

"Well thanks for the history lesson, Egghead," called Peter. "The question is, how do we kill this mother?"

"That's the bad news," said Egon uncomfortably.

"I hate it when you say that, Spengs," I groaned. "What's the bad news?"

"Well as you said, none of the demons we've ever faced have matched the level of psychokinetic energy such as the one Armageddon maintains," Egon explained. "He's not even a primal force like Gozer. He's on another a completely different level and I'm afraid to admit that our proton packs would have no effect on him whatsoever."

I froze as realization came over me. "Wait...so you're saying there's _nothing_ we can do?"

Egon gave me a look. The same look he had given me so many times when he had something to tell me that he knew I'd hate hearing, something that he didn't want to tell me.

We were going to die.

So I did the only thing I could do: I took the hand of Egon Spengler, the smartest man I'd ever known, my confidante, my rock, my best friend, and now the man I loved; in mine and squeezed it tightly. And there we stood, waiting for the end to come.

* * *

_1996_

_I was tucking my five year old daughter into bed, humming quietly. She sighed and turned over on her side. As she was nodding off, I heard her quietly mumble, "I love you, Mama."_

_I smiled and pushed a lock of out of her face. "I love you too, Alice. Sweet dreams." I watched her green eyes blink open more time and shut. They did not open again._

_I quietly left the room. I was feeling tired after all the things that had transpired that day. My divorce had become official and I had cried onto the shoulder of a friend I never thought I would see again. I couldn't help but wonder why Egon had rushed to my side when he knew he could have been imprisoned for it._

Because Egon's a great friend_, a voice inside of my head told me._

_Seeing Egon again had made me feel alive in a time when every part of me, it seemed, was dying. I hoped I could hold onto that feeling._

_I was just sitting down to watch the news when all of a sudden I heard a tentative rap on the apartment door. I looked at my watch: 9:30. Curiously, I got up to open the door, wondering who on earth would be visiting me at this hour._

_I turned the knob and got my answer._

_His dark hair was unkempt and his green eyes were bleary, like he had just gotten out of bed...or was inebriated. Yes, I could definitely smell the bourbon on his breath. He stared at me like I was an angel delivered from Heaven. "Oh, Jenny!" he slurred and he threw his arms around me. "God, I missed ya so much!"_

_I pushed him off of me. "Alex? What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded. "And why are you drunk?"_

"_Oh, Jenny, lemme tell ya," he said, plopping a grubby hand on my shoulder, "I made a horrible mistake! You were righ' 'bout Candy, she uppen leff me just like that!" He snapped his fingers to punctuate his point. "I wan' you an me an Allie back there ta be a fam'ly 'gin, just like we used ta be! Wouldn't that be nice, Jenny?"_

"_Alex, let me make you some coffee," I said, quickly trying to pull myself away from him. But Alex grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him. "C'mon, honey," he breathed in my face. "Ya know ya miss me too."_

"_No, I do-" My words were cut off as he pushed his lips into mine. My immediate reaction was to push him off. I started to struggle, but Alex kissed harder. My wriggling ceased and I found myself melting into the embrace._

God,_ I thought dreamily_. It's been ages since he kissed me like this!

_My hand reached up to his head and my fingers ran themselves through his hair. He moaned against my lips. "That's it," he whispered._

He cheated on you! Don't let him in! _my conscience was screaming at me._

_He gently pushed me back into the apartment, up against the wall. I pressed my lips up against his in defeat. "Mmm," I groaned._

Oh, who cares if he cheated!_ I thought back. _This is worth it!

Stop, _another voice cut in, this one male and strikingly familiar. _Don't do this.

_I froze mentally, letting myself be pulled away from the passion of the moment._ Egon?

You're worth more than this. He broke your heart. You really think he won't do it again?

_I winced inwardly._ But...but he loves me. He's here, isn't he?

He's here because he's drunk and knows he can take advantage of you, _Egon's voice advised_. He'll only hurt you again and I'm not going to let him. You deserve better.

_I snapped out of it. I pulled my hand from the back of Alex's neck and slapped his cheek with it as hard as I could._

_Alex abruptly pulled away. _No, stay_, some weak part of me was saying. But Egon, or rather, the delusion of Egon, was right. I did deserve better._

"_Whassa matter, Jenny?" Alex gasped. "I thought we had somethin' for a moment!"_

_I pushed him off of me. "We had something for five years. But you chose to violate that. Now, the temple is closed."_

_Alex stood up. "Then why the hell did ya lead me on like that?"_

"_Force of habit," I grumbled. "Now get out of here, Alex! And while you're at it, never come back!"_

_Alex gave me one last melancholy look. "But, Jenny-"_

"_And DON'T call me that," I added, pushing him out of the door and out of my life._

* * *

Egon had been there. When no one else could, or would, he was there. Even then, he had been my voice of reason. I'd never told anyone that story.

I ripped my eyes from the horrific beast known as Armageddon and looked at him. I was the idiot who had let him slip through my fingers. He had always loved me. And I loved him. I realized that now.

But it was too late. I'd never even be able to tell him I love him.

I gulped and stared back at the monster. If death was going to come, let it come right-

"Now, guys! Blast him!"

* * *

**I meant for Egon to get to say his famous line from the video game, "We eat gods for breakfast!" but I couldn't find anywhere to fit it in. Last chapter coming soon! And comment if you want me to do a story about the kids!**


	14. All Is Right

Four green jets of light fired from the same direction of the voice, which was about six feet behind us, off to the left. The streams zapped Armageddon, and the demon vanished in a wisp of vapor.

The five of us just stood there, dumbstruck. We had been on the brink of life and death and then suddenly...poof! The destroyer just randomly disappeared? It sounded like the ending to a Stephen King novel, or some high school kid's lame online fanfiction. Peter, Ray, Egon, Winston, and I all slowly turned around to face our guardian angels.

And it was...our kids?

Jeremy Venkman grinned triumphantly and high fived Eddie Stantz, standing to his left. "Nice job, Eddie!" He brandished the strange gun-looking device in his hand. "These Ecto-Porters of yours work great!"

"Aw, I didn't do it alone," Eddie said modestly. "I couldn't have done it without Alice here. You're really smart, you know that?"

"Thanks, but you were the one who designed these tools," admitted Alice. "And Graham, your aim was superb."

Graham shrugged. "We shoot guns a lot in ROTC."

Jeremy turned to my daughter. "Alice, none of this would have happened if you hadn't brought us all together. Thanks."

Alice reddened. "Uh, thanks, Jeremy...and thank you for believing me about this."

Jeremy smiled bashfully. "You're welcome."

Winston nonchalantly cleared his throat. The kids looked up, as if they had forgotten we were there. I just knew what they were thinking: _Busted_.

"Kids, what are you doing here?" asked Ray.

"We came to help, Dad," Eddie explained."I, eh, overheard you on the phone about the PKE levels."

"And then, Alice introduced us to each other," added Graham.

"So we decided we'd come and help with the crisis," Alice concluded.

"But where did you get those weapons?" Egon asked curiously.

"Eddie built them. They were based on your designs, Dr. Spengler," Alice replied.

"But like I said, Alice helped too, sir," Eddie piped up. "They teleport ethereal beings back to the ghost dimension. Not as permenent as the old trap-and-contain routine, but it's best for primal spirits."

Egon raised his eyebrows, obviously impressed.

"Hey, Alice," said Jeremy, turning to my daughter. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," said Alice. "What is it, Jeremy?"

Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well I was just wondering...uh, do you want to go to that end-of-the-year dance with me?"

Alice's cheeks turned pink. "Yeah...I'd like that a lot."

Jeremy smiled shyly.

"Who'da thunk it, Venkman," I joked to Peter. "Your son and my daughter?"

"I know," said Peter, shaking his head. "I thought I taught him better than that." I punched his shoulder.

Ray strode over to his son and pulled him into a bear hug. "Kid, you don't know how proud I am of you. Your mother would've been proud."

"Aw thanks, Dad. I just hope I can be as awesome as you are someday," replied Eddie.

"It's all so sweet I could hurl," I muttered to Egon.

Egon chuckled a little.

"The thing is," I continued cautiously, my heart beginning to thump. "Where's our happy ending?"

Egon slowly turned to look at me, eyes widened.

"See, um," I stuttered. "I mean, I know this is about twenty years out of context, and after all this time I really don't deserve it, and I can't believe I didn't realize the way I felt sooner, but the thing is that I...that I'm, uh...I'm-"

Egon cut me off by placing a finger to my lips. "Jenny," he whispered. "You don't have to say it."

I shook my head. "Yes. Yes, I do...Egon Spengler," I took a deep breath. "I love you."

A small smile spread across Egon's face. Not the excited kind he got when he was working on a science project. Not the determined kind he got when we were saving the world. Not the smug kind he got when he made his occasional joke. Not even the compassionate kind he saved for when he knew it was just what I needed to brighten my day. I never seen a smile of the like on his face before. It was ecstatic and humble and terrified and liberated and demure all at the same time. It was beautiful and wonderful and I was pretty sure I was smiling the same way too.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'm sorry I never noticed."

"You were worth the wait," my scientist murmured. "And I love you too."

The two of us slowly leaned our heads toward each other's. "Let's not clunk our heads together this time, okay?" I whispered.

Egon laughed. "That's a deal."

Then we closed the remaining space between us and our lips met.

_Mrs. Haversham, you were so right._

* * *

**Alice**  
I watched my mom and Dr. Spengler kiss. As sweet as it was, it was also a little unnerving. I cleared my throat after about five seconds. "Uh, Mom?"

Mom abruptly pulled away from Dr. Spengler. "Oh. Sorry," she said a little sheepishly. But I could tell she was trying not to grin. Dr. Spengler was blushing a little himself. I'd figured he wasn't exactly the type to kiss girls in front of people...or at all, really.

Dr. Venkman was chuckling up a storm. "'Bout time, Brainiac," he called.

Mom gasped as she whirled around to look at him. "You _knew_?"

"Uh, Jennifer? We _all_ knew," Mr. Zeddemore piped up.

Mom's mouth dropped a little as she turned back to Dr. Spengler. "God...how long?" she asked him.

"Er...you remember when you told me that you thought nerds were cool?" Dr. Spengler said kind of awkwardly.

"Oh no!" My mother kind of laughed and hugged Dr. Spengler. "Oh Egon, I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry."

Egon smiled contentedly and hugged her back. "Like I said, you were worth the wait."

"Nobody's worth that long," Mom disagreed.

"You don't realize how great you are," Egon retorted.

"Yo, Dork-eo and Juliet," Dr. Venkman cut in, "If you two haven't noticed, we've attracted an audience."

The nine of us all turned around to find that a fair sized crowd had gathered and they were all staring at, ghouly-eyed.

"Oh...uh...hello," said Dr. Stantz stiffly. "As you all probably know already, we're the Ghostbusters."

The crowd screamed with delight. "Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters!" they chanted excitedly.

Dr. Stantz waved them down. "Thank you. It's nice to see that we still have some fans over the years."

"Excuse me," called a reporter from the mass. "But are we to assume that you're back in operation?"

Dr. Venkman, Dr. Stantz, Mr. Zeddemore, Dr. Spengler, and my mom all looked at each other. The five of them burst into laughter. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're getting too old for Ghostbusting," said Mom.

"Besides," Dr. Spengler piped up, "it would appear that we're no longer needed. It seems that we have some very capable apprentices on our hands to take over our business." The five original Ghostbusters turned their heads to Eddie, Graham, Jeremy, and me.

My eyes widened. "Wait...you mean us?"

"Well, with a little training," said Dr. Stantz, scrutinizing us, "I think you four could be top-notch Ghostbusters."

"Really?" gasped Eddie. "We get to be Ghostbusters?"

Our parents nodded. Eddie raised his arms in victory. "This is the BEST DAY EVER!" The crowd laughed.

"I've got a great idea," said Mr. Zeddemore. "Why don't we all head down to the firehouse, you know, for old time's sake?"

"I'd like that," said Mom, nodding. "I've missed the old place a lot."

"Well, let's go, people!" Dr. Venkman exclaimed. "Let's have a party while we're at it!"

"Yeah," agreed Mom, gazing up at Dr. Spengler, a small smile on her face. "To celebrate our family coming back together again."

The crowd cheered.

The nine of us started walking back to the Ectomobile. But Jeremy stopped me and let the others get ahead. "What is it?" I asked.

Jeremy smiled at me, those gorgeous blue eyes twinkling. My knees felt a little weak as he took my hands. "Just didn't want to do this with everybody staring."

He bent down a little and kissed my cheek. I felt my face turn red as I blurted out a very un-introverted thing to say: "I think you can do better than that."

Jeremy grinned. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he wrapped his around my waist and pulled me into a kiss.

It was funny. Just four days ago, I was just some genius reject chick at my school. Now, a very sweet and cute boy liked me, and I was a junior Ghostbuster besides. A photo album sure can change everything, can't it?

"Come on," Jeremy said after we'd pulled apart. "They're probably gonna come back and give us hell if we don't catch up."

I smiled and grabbed his hand. "Let's go."

We started to walk away, but suddenly, I heard a cold, whispery voice: _I shall return_.

I froze. Jeremy's head snapped back to me. "What is it?"

I gave him a curious look. "You didn't hear that?"

"No," said Jeremy, shrugging. "Hear what?"

I shook my head slightly. "It's nothing. Let's just go."

And so we walked out of Central Park, hand in hand.

* * *

**Aw, I just love this chapter. Everybody's happy, and there's even a little suspense at the end!**

**You know, I feel like there should be some short romantic scene at the end of this story between Jennifer and Egon. I mean, yes, they just had their big kiss moment, but I feel like everyone would want that just to satify their Egonnifer craving.**

**Oh God, now I'm giving them a celeb couple name? Truthfully, when I started GB+Me, I didn't even want to follow this Egon/OC romance fanfiction cliche, but that's how it turned out anyway. I was originally gonna have Alex come back or something. But then I realized, no, Alex should be a cheating scumbag and Jennifer should be with one of the guys...hey, how about Egon? Now I'm a trend follower. Grr! ****Whatever, you know you all liked it. Besides, if I could choose any Ghostbusters to date, it would probably be Egon, because he's so cool. (Am I the only one who has noticed that Egon's kind of a lady's man? I mean, watch _Real Ghostbusters_ sometime. Some girl is always hitting on him. And of course, Egon never notices. Maybe girls find Egon's shyness around them endearing? I don't know.)**

**Anyway, comment if you want that romantic scene. And if you want GB+Me Part 4! 'Cause otherwise, the GB+Me series is over! The end?**


	15. Epilogue

**Well, here's that romantic scene. Short and sweet.**

* * *

**Jennifer**

That evening, everyone (and by everyone, I mean me, the guys, the kids, Dana and Oscar, and Winston's wife Laura, and Kendra, his little girl) was sitting around the firehouse, talking about what had happened today, reiterating old Ghostbusting memories, and catching each other up on what had happened over the last fifteen years.

I happily watched as Alice and Venkman's kid hold hands. Alice was smiling more than she ever had in her whole life. She was usually so serious, just like someone else I knew. It was strange how even though Alex had been her father, Alice had ended up just like Egon.

I went into the kitchen to get a soda. I started singing "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton to myself. I was so happy, I just had to. "Makin' my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass and I'm homebound. Starin' blankly ahead; making my way, making my way through the crowd."

I heard warm chuckling from the doorway. I turned to find Egon standing there. He had followed me into the kitchen and I hadn't noticed. "Still singing, huh?"

I laughed a little. "Not much. Just when I want to make someone's ears bleed."

Egon shook his head. "You're never going to believe me about how great you are, are you?"

"I did once," I told him. "Eleven years ago. Remember?"

He nodded slowly. "I remember."

I walked over and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "You were there for me. You were always there for me. Thank you."

Egon smiled a little as he put his hand on my cheek. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him. At that moment, Peter chose to saunter in. "Oh, disgusting! Are you two making out again?" he yelled, just loud enough for the rest to hear.

"Yeah, Pete, we were!" I yelled back jokingly. "And loving every minute of it, right, Egon?" Egon silently chortled and rolled his eyes.

Peter shook his head, mock tiredly. "I can't let you two out of my sight for a moment, can I?"

"Uh-uh." I grinned and kissed Egon on the nose. "Come on, Spengler. We'll have time later, if you know what I mean." I winked at him. Egon's cheeks went pink slightly.

"Good for you, Egghead," said Peter, patting Egon on the back. "Now you can quit the mood slime!"

Egon blushed more. "That was an experiment!" he defended, trying not to laugh.

"Right." Peter looked at me. "You sure you can compete with some alluring glob of psychomagnotheric goo?"

I wrapped my arms around Egon's torso and smirked at Peter. "Oh, I'm sure. This one's mine and he knows it." I smiled up at Egon. His warm brown eyes were twinkling.

Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna get outta here before I'm completely sick." He walked out and my scientist and I followed, arms around each other.

"I love you, Jennifer," Egon said to me.

"I love you too."

The End.


End file.
